ENTERPRISE VS. COMMUNITY

The past couple of years has seen more frequent use of the term "intelligence enterprise." The term "intelligence community" is still prominent, but the two terms are not synonymous. "Community" refers to group members. "Enterprise" refers to integrated work.

Historically, "intelligence community," or "IC," has been used to describe the collection of intelligence agencies and organizations across the federal government. Equivalent ICs exist at other levels of government. The United States has a large IC of 18 separate agencies, with tens of thousands of employees. Canada's IC is much smaller with less than a dozen organizations (depending on how you count them), totalling maybe 2-3 thousand employees. So here, the term "community" is meant to describe the collection of intelligence entities, each one of which has its own specific mandate, responding to its own legislated hierarchy.

The term "enterprise" on the other hand, is intended to connote the ideal of integrated work throughout the intelligence function, across government at all levels in Canada. Given modern threats to modern societies like Canada, individual members of an IC cannot and must not work independently, parochially or, separately. Like any successful corporate enterprise, the intelligence function needs to operate as a cohesive whole, guided by cohesive leadership providing clear direction.

Enterprise thinking calls up interest in common professional development programs and meaningful career paths for intelligence practitioner - no matter what the size of the IC.